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# An Exhibition Made for and by the Afro-Latinx Angeleno Community
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/afrolatinidad-la-plaza-cultura-y-artes/
- Published: 2020-07-28T21:33:21.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:06:43.000Z
- Description: afroLAtinidad: mi casa, my city, a project two years in the making, gathers family photos, instruments, dolls, and more from local Afro-Latinx Angeleno families and individuals.
- Author: Elisa Wouk Almino
- Tags: Art, California, Events, Los Angeles, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:41 (2019, 2020, part 2)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/janelle-hartley.jpg)

Childhood photo (image courtesy Janelle Hartley)

Since 2018, [LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes](https://lapca.org/?ref=hyperallergic.com), a Mexican-American museum and cultural center in downtown Los Angeles, has been planning an exhibition on the culture and history of Afro-Latinx Angelenos. From the project’s inception, the lead curator, Mariah Berlanga-Shevchuk, wanted the show to be realized by the local community. Over the course of several months, the museum put out [open calls](https://www.facebook.com/events/la-plaza-de-cultura-y-artes/afrolatinidad-in-los-angeles-collection-day/1098660313673382/) for local Afro-Latinx families and individuals to share their stories and artifacts, and received a wonderful range of submissions, from family photos and recipes to handmade jewelry, instruments, and orixa dolls. The result, [*afroLAtinidad: mi casa, my city*](https://lapca.org/exhibition/afro-latinidad-mi-casa-my-city/?ref=hyperallergic.com), opened in late February of this year.

“We are aiming to scratch the surface at getting this community recognized on a broader scale, particularly with the non-Afro-Latinx community,” said Berlanga-Shevchuk in [an interview with CBS Los Angeles](https://www.youtube.com/watch?time%5Fcontinue=1&v=1ld0jHZyBf0&feature=emb%5Flogo&ref=hyperallergic.com) on opening night, “but primarily this show is for the Afro-Latinx community to feel like they’re being represented and seen.”

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/lemanja-orixa.jpg)

Lemanja orixa, Maria Izabela Bras Santos (2005) (object courtesy Linda Yudin)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/fabric-earrings-2.jpg)

Fabric earrings (2010) (courtesy Daniel and La Mikia Castillo)

As we all know, just a few weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and all art spaces closed their doors to the public. Since then, LA Plaza has made an effort to [upload photos and videos](https://lapca.org/exhibition/afro-latinidad-mi-casa-my-city/?ref=hyperallergic.com) of the exhibition online, and while the show is expected to be up through August 24, it might remain open longer to welcome visitors in-person again.

In the meantime, there is a special opportunity to attend the Zoom talk [“When Community Creates Exhibitions”](https://lapca.org/event/when-community-creates-exhibitions-the-making-of-afrolatinidad-mi-casa-my-city/?event%5Fdate=2020-07-29&ref=hyperallergic.com) this Wednesday, July 29\. You’ll get to hear from the core team that organized the exhibition: Berlanga-Shevchuk; adviser La Mikia Castillo; lender Janelle Hartley (whose childhood photo leads this article); and assistant curator and project manager Esperanza Sanchez. As Berlanga-Shevchuk shared over email, the panelists will discuss why involving the community was important to making the exhibition “authentic to the lived experiences of Afro-Latinx Angelenos.” They will also take us through a video walkthrough of the exhibition and dive into the stories of the individual objects on view.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/eva-ayllon-cajon.jpg)

Eva Ayllón Cajón (2017) (courtesy Juan Morillo)

**When:** Wednesday, July 29, 7pm (PDT)  
**Where:** Zoom

*More info at* [*LA Plaza Cultura y Artes*](https://lapca.org/event/when-community-creates-exhibitions-the-making-of-afrolatinidad-mi-casa-my-city/?event%5Fdate=2020-07-29&ref=hyperallergic.com)

*Editor’s note: For those who missed the event and are interested in watching the discussion,* [*it is now available on YouTube*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?time%5Fcontinue=17&v=BY8DEKuH9M4&feature=emb%5Flogo&ref=hyperallergic.com)*.*